Women in Business
Name: Charlotte Sapey Position: Managing Director Company: Integr8 Dane
“ People don ' t take me seriously because I am a young woman. But when they find out more about the business and our figures they are normally impressed because they don ' t expect it from us.”
“ We train the next generation of Diversity! We go right into the heart of where children are at, nurseries, schools and colleges and provide high quality, affordable street dance classes and cheerleading.”
Charlotte is 26 and the Managing Director and founder of integr8 dance. Integr8dance believes in making dance accessible to everyone. The company is based in Winchester and provides classes and courses to adults and children around the local area of Winchester and Southamptonshire with plans to expand.
Why Business? Graduating from Winchester University in 2008 with a degree in dance Charlotte worked as a freelance dance teacher around Winchester. She recognised there was a high demand for dance teachers in the area and realised she did not have the resources to meet this on her own, intergr8 dance was born!
The company now employs a mix of full time and part time staff and runs its own dance school whilst running classes at local schools, youthclubs and
businesses.
Discrimination
Charlotte says she has experienced discrimination because of her gender. She states that there are occasions where she has struggled to get people to take her seriously as young businesswoman. This can be extremely frustrating especially when trying to expand the business into new areas. This discrimination can also work in her favour as people’ s expectations of what she can achieve are often lower, by showcasing the work she has done and with impressive financials she has beat expectations and earnt respect. People are also more willing to share ideas. cont.... 13